This is VOA News. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd. Australia's Victoria state on Wednesday extended a snap COVID-19 lockdown for a second week in Melbourne in a bid to contain an outbreak of a highly contagious virus strain first detected in India. Reuters Libby Hogan has more. Victoria state Acting Premier James Merlino warned the tough measures were needed or else cases could explode. "So we have right now 60 cases and over 350 exposure sites, and a variant of the virus that is quicker and more contagious than we have ever seen before." The latest outbreak has been traced back to a traveler who returned from overseas. The person left hotel quarantine in South Australia state after testing negative, but later tested positive in Melbourne. Australia's tough approach on containing the virus, including snap lockdowns like this, border restrictions and tough social distancing rules, have largely helped the country suppress the virus. That's Reuters Libby Hogan.
China's Huawei launched its Harmony operating system for smartphones on Wednesday, looking to recover from U.S. sanctions that have hobbled its mobile business. Huawei will start rolling out Harmony on selected smartphone models, offering users the chance to switch from the current operating system that's based on Google's Android platform. The use of HarmonyOS means the company will no longer be wholly reliant on Android. U.S. sanctions banned Alphabet Inc.'s Google from providing technical support to new Huawei phone models and access to Google Mobile Services, the bundle of developer services upon which most Android apps are based. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.